Differently: Stop living by default. Start living by design.
Differently is for when you need to get out of your head and back into your life.
Created and hosted by Carla Reeves, creator of The Differently Journal, her work is built on over 20 years of helping people use writing to navigate real life. Not as a habit to keep up with, but as a way to calm your mind, get clear, and move forward.
You are always writing your life, whether it’s in your mind or on paper.
It's time to take the pen back.
Turn overthinking and self doubt into clarity, confidence, creativity and momentum.
You think about dusting your home, but what about your relationships? "Dust" naturally covers our relationships over time, hiding the magic that once drew us together.
Listen to this short episode and understand where this dust comes from and how you can use the art of sweeping to keep the magic, love and passion alive in ALL of your relationships including the one you have with yourself.
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Thank you for listening!
SPEAKER_00
I'm Carla Reeves, and this is Differently, a podcast where we explore the ins and outs of what becomes possible when we're willing to think, do, and show up differently to the moments of our everyday lives. Imagine how dusty your home would be if you hadn't dusted for months or maybe even years. Would you even recognize that once remarkable furniture you treasured findings so many years ago, or see the charm and appeal that drove you to buy your home to begin with? The same is true for your relationships. It's natural for dust to appear in relationships too. And over time, that dust builds and builds and eventually prevents us from seeing the magic that drew us together in the first place. There are things that occur inside of relationships that cause this dust to build. First, in relationships in life, it's common and normal for us to endure small upsets and misunderstandings and thwarted expectations. We don't address them at the time they happen, thinking they're not that big of a deal. But over time, those upsets and misunderstandings become the dust of your relationship. And second, we tend to avoid conversations, leave projects incomplete, promise something we never finish. Over time, these small things too build up, and if never addressed, they form a haze or a cloud or a barrier to our aliveness and connection with others and the world around us. This applies to relationships and friendships and family, even your team and your colleagues and your coworkers. It's natural in relationships for stuff to happen and pile up over time. But we all know that when our key relationships aren't right, it impacts everything. The good news is it doesn't have to be this way. And there are specific steps that you can take to restore the connection and the magic. And the most important thing, keep it alive. Remember, I shared in that last episode about my fear around the bliss monster coming in and taking all of our joy and happiness at some future unknown date. The antidote to that is to take the reins and do the work to ensure that you keep the joy and magic alive in your life. And this is a practice that we created inside of our marriage called sweeping that actually allows you to ongoingly cultivate an environment where you can thrive. Imagine a relationship where you both have a commitment to clearing the dust. This means that as things happen, instead of brushing it aside, you address it simply and directly and let it go. In some relationships, it only requires you doing the initial work. And then, as one of my clients said, it's contagious. I call this sweeping. The artist sweeping might sound corny to some, but it has the potential to change the quality of your relationships forever. I never thought it was possible to fall in love over and over and over again, but guess what? It is. And this is not only possible inside of a marriage or a relationship, but with your friends and even inside yourself and your everyday life. Because as you keep your own mind swept and clean and clear, you can keep falling in love with your life too. The practice of sweeping is a commitment to addressing the little things as they happen or shortly after so that they don't build up. This is key to keeping the spark alive in yourself and in your everyday life. Just like we sweep and dust our homes, the same holds true in our life. This practice is a game changer. Here's how you can get started sweeping. Grab a notebook, scan your life, make a list of the areas that need sweeping. Look to the things that have been hanging over your head that you keep stewing about, maybe a conversation you had that never felt finished. Maybe it's unfinished projects or things you've been avoiding or promises you made and never fall through, followed through, incomplete conversations, and on and on. Write all those down. Explore next in your journal how you plan to sweep this area and write about the positive impact it would have to get it complete and let it go. Continue to practice step by step, line by line, little small actions. Practice it weekly and use this first month to create a plan and a practice for an ongoing habit in your life. Don't worry if you're thinking I've never swept, and there's tons of dust around here. The key is that you just get started bit by bit. And as you do, that sparkle in and around you will emerge. I promise. This is an incredible practice to harness and maximize your energy and aliveness. It's recommended on a regular basis. Unfinished business of all kinds robs your precious energy. Imagine the places that you can put this newfound energy. Here's just sweeping your relationships and expanding love all over your life. Not just this month, but a practice to keep alive for all of your days. If this stood out to you or if you know a friend who would appreciate knowing about sweeping, please pass it along. Have an amazing day. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Differently. I hope it stirred your thinking, and I invite you to take one inspired action from something that stood out to you. If you want to hear more conversations like this, hit subscribe on your favorite podcast app, and please help us spread the word by sharing this podcast with people you know. Remember, new episodes drop weekly. See you next week.
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